Intro story-shortly after being saved
I had put myself back in a spirit of bondage to fear
There is more to the story but we will get into that later
Romans 8:14-17
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[a] Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
I wanted to use this a sermon on how to not let fear stop you from doing what the Lord has asked
I even had a funny story about fear
This is not the fear this scripture is speaking of
It is very important when you study, preach, and read the word to understand the context of the scripture you read. As well as historical context
There are different fears that the bible talks about and we need to understand these fears to deduct what the bible is referencing in this scripture
Here is a list of 5 different fears
- There is a natural fear. This is the fear that a person has of its creator. We have this fear because we understand our own insignificance towards our creator. His greatness is far more than we can understand while we walk this earth. Knowing He is holy and the creator of all. This is a fear we wont lose ever. Even when we are made perfect in glory we will still bow down before Him in constant awe.
- A carnal fear. That is our fear towards man. The fear of what they might say or do to us this is the fear that can cause us to be fearful to do the Lords work. We must pray that the Lord will deliver us from this fear and obey Him.
Psalm 56:3-4
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word),In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?
- Is a servile fear. This is a fear of a slave towards a master. This is a fear of penalty by the master if the slave offends the master. The slave is in great fear of consequences and is motivated to obey out of fear rather than out of willingness to please. This fear will last until the slave is turned into a child. Once this happens the fear should be gone.
- If servile fear is not cast out it can lead to a 4th fear. That is a diabolical fear. This is the fear where we finally except our consequences and no longer seek to resolve. This is the type of fear that is in in James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!. It may be hard to believe but it happens (story friend)
- The fifth fear is a filial fear. This fear is to never be cast out of your mind. This is the fear of the Lord. The same type it talks about in proverbs. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This fear should be cultivated towards God out of reverence and awe.
Romans 8:15
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[a] Father.”
This scripture is talking about servile fear
We can deduct that by the words Paul is using “bondage” or some translations say “slaves”
Also based on the context of previous chapters where Paul is talking about slavery such as we are no longer slaves to sin.
My intro story
I had put myself back into a position of this fear in fact I was almost border line of excepting the fact that I was going to spend eternity apart from God
I was ashamed. No way would the Lord ever accept me back
I came to another crossroads where if I didn’t make the right decision it would have not been good.
I remember being in tears knowing that I blew it. It was over. God didn’t want me
I just so happened to put a sermon on about romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
It completely changed me
I repented and began seeking the Lord realizing I had messed up but His grace is bigger than that.
My story is an extreme case of fear of bondage, but there are Christians who think they are constantly one sin away from losing salvation
This is not what God has intended for us once we are made new
We cant live in a constant state that we are receiving punishment after excepting the Lord
I have news for you. You aren’t perfect… you are going to mess up. Always
That’s why God’s grace in our lives is so important.
Now servile fear can play a role early in our salvation
We do use this to separate ourselves from sins in our lives that are displeasing to God
Its ok for a time to be afraid of the consequence of sin, but at some point this fear should be cast out. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage to fear again, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out abba father.
Story I was adopted
Even though I was adopt I didn’t understand what had been done
I was still rebellious
I had a fear of consequence but it ended up resulting into no fear of it
I was rejecting the birthright my father had given me
It wasn’t until a few years after I was saved that I finally understood the sacrifice and what being adopted meant
Some Christians live in a constant state of rejecting what God is trying do in their lives because they don’t understand what has been done for them
As Christians we must catch the truth and meaning of this adoption to God
Once we do that we can cast out servile fear. When we understand this our attitude changes from doing what the master wants out of fear.
To doing what He asks out of love, just like a son trying to please his father.
The first part of the scripture sets us up for the rest of the verse
Understanding the beginning makes the next portion of scripture even more powerful
but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[a] Father.”
We must understand that God has adopted us
It’s a great honor and prize, to be adopted by the creator of the heavens and earth
Its not to be overlooked
Sometimes trying to understand the depths of His love is unfathomable
But that is the God we serve
Its something that we should yearn after
Story adopting Jarrett
Jarrett knew that he wanted me to be his adopted father
He knows that I love him
I want whats best for him
He also understands the love I have for him to be willing to take him as my own child. Because he is my child
That is the attitude we should have towards God
Don’t just brush past scriptures like this because they are important and have significant meaning
That’s why you must be able to really understand context of the word
You see the writers of the new testament knew and understood the people they were writing to
Paul new all about roman culture
Paul isn’t just using any metaphor, he used this one on purpose because its powerful
Romans knew all about slavery because it was common, but they also knew all about adoption
We hear adoption now and it doesn’t seem like such a big deal
But in roman culture it was huge to be adopted by a roman
Slaves were considered property to their master under roman law
Most of them never being freed from that bondage
They had no freedom, and if they upset or offended their master they would often be beaten and punished
The had no free will, just the will of their master
Now over time slaves could acquire some wealth but they still weren’t free
In fact their owner still actually owned everything and they were free to use it
But everything could still be taken from them in an instant
They had no rights under roman law
Imagine having to live like that, nothing is actually yours and you were in constant fear of offending your master
And that is exactly why adoption in roman culture was a big deal
People yearned to be adopted to a roman
Because they could finally be free from that bondage
You go from nothing to something in an instant
Something that was not taken lightly
Paul writing this metaphor is something that the people would understand
Once adopted the person was taken out of their previous situation and placed into a new relationship to his new adopting father. The father becomes his new family head
The adopted son would start a new life, with his new family and all of his old debts would be cancelled
An adopted son was considered no less important than a biological born son that was born into the family
They even experienced a changed status, with his old name set aside and a new name given to him by his adopted father
Do you understand the depths of what God our father has done for us by adopting us into His kingdom
We are His children
He loves, comforts, shelters, provides and cares for everyone of us like His own biological child
He thinks no less of us
We were once slaves and now we have been set free
Weve gone from death to life by the adoption from Him
This is something to be excited about, the God of the universe is our father
Our old debts have been cancelled as we cry out “abba, father”
Now Abba is the Aramaic word for father
It was a word that signified close intimate relationship of a father and his child as well as the childlike trust a child puts in his father
And father, well, I don’t think it needs much explanation
Abba, father was only used 3 times in scripture once in Mark 14:36 when Jesus is at the garden of gethsemane praying
Once in Romans 8:15, which were talking about
And one more time in galatians 4:6 also in the context of adoption
Abba, father is like a double emphasis of the fatherhood of God
He says it in 2 different languages to solidify the deep intimate relationship we should have with God
Now since we have been adopted by God our abba, father that makes us joint heirs with Christ
Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
So what is an heir
Heir- one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property
one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor
Since Jesus is the firstborn Son, He is an heir
That means through Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of adoption we become joint heirs
We get the benefits and blessings from God due to being a joint heir
This is a very powerful thing and sometimes harder to comprehend than it sounds
Being a joint heir to the One who gave His life for our reconciliation to the father
Being a joint heir all hinges on Jesus Christ
It is not by our doing
As a believer you have no right to heaven in yourself
Our rights still go through Jesus
If you are pardoned, it is strictly through the blood of Jesus
Since we are justified it is only through the righteousness of Jesus
Our sanctification is because He has sanctified us through the power of the Holy spirit
Our wisdom, knowledge and understanding all comes from the relationship we are able to have with our abba, father do to the spirit of adoption because of Jesus Christ
It is a great honor that should not be taken lightly
We are adopted sons and daughters of God thanks to the One true King
This also means, that because we are joint heirs and and preach Jesus Christ and repentance that there will be times that we may suffer
But knowing that in the end we will be glorified with Him should give us strength
Mark 13:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who [a]endures to the end shall be saved.
We must remain in the truth and spread the gospel no matter what
People will ridicule you, it is expected
They will make fun of you and maybe even at times hurt you
But you cant let this interfere with being bold
Because if you cant handle that now you wont make it when things get real difficult
Just look at what some apostles went through
They were beaten, imprisoned, and executed for Jesus
Paul was beheaded, peter was crucified upside down at his request, Andrew was crucified as well, and James was put to death by the sword
This is just 4 of them. Most of them were martyred for Jesus
This is what suffering is, but they gladly did it because they know the importance of the gospel
Remember that next time you are afraid to represent Christ because someone called you a bible thumper
Who cares what people say or do to you because in the end we will be glorified with Him
Rest easy in the fact that we are adopted by God and joint heirs with Christ
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